Giant Magellan Telescope Enclosure Thermal Modeling & Simulation

The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) will be one of the most powerful ground-based telescopes in the world upon commissioning at the Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) in Chile. The GMT enclosure protects the telescope, and its systems, from the external environment and plays a crucial role in delivering high quality celestial imagery. This paper describes the development and application of a 3D finite element model of the GMT enclosure and key internal components. This model was developed by Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T), under contract from the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization (GMTO), to characterize the complex interplay of convective, radiative and conductive heat transfer between components within the GMT enclosure and the surrounding environment. The primary intent of this analysis tool is to provide GMT engineers with input conditions for detailed conjugate heat transfer and aero-optic simulations. These simulations will support GMTO's optimization of their enclosure design to maximize image quality and daily imaging time with minimal use of active thermal controls.